Engine-starting and automobile-lighting system



J. 8. ENTZ.

ENGINE STARTING AND AUTOMOBILE UGHTING SYSTEM. APPucA'nou mm mm. :1, m2. nah-men um. 15. 1919.

*ty'i Patented May 4, 1920.

electric machine which is UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JUS'I'US IB. ENTZ, OF CLEVELAND,

ENGINE-STARTING AND AUTOMOBILE-LIGHTINQ SYSTEM.

Specification of l ietters Patent.

Application filed March 11, 191?, Serial iio. 682,859. Renewed January, 1919. Serial Ilia 27!),835,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga and State of hi0, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Engine-Starting and Automobile-Lighting Systems, of which/the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a combined engine starting and lighting system, particularly for automobile use, and has for its main object to provide an eflicient starting and lighting system, employing'a dynamo permanently connected orcoupled to the engine by a single power transmitting agency and which when functioning as a motor has desirable characteristics of an engine starting motor and when functioning as a able characteristics ofa lighting and batter charging generator.

nether words, it is one of the objectsto provide in a'sy'stem of this character a dynamo electric machine which whenservingas a motorin starting the engine has high starting torque, and when driven by the engine serves at .varying speed as a constant potential generator 'to'supply to the lamps current at constant potential and to charge the battery at a substantially constant ampere rate.

In the attainment of the above and other objects, I employ a machine which when servingas a generator has its field excitation automatically governed to cause a. substantially constant potential at the tcrminals of the machine, irrespective of the speed at which the machine is driven. This is accomplished preferably by utilizing a machine having a. shunt winding which provides the main field excitation and a series winding which has a magnetizing action when the machine is serving as a motor. and a dcmagnctizing action" when thc machine is acting as a generator. the (ii-magnetizing efl'ect varying with tho spccd at which the machine is driven so as to cause the. machine to have the generator characteristics above stated.

Further fcaturcs of thc'invcntion reside in the provision of means whereby-the charging rate of the battery may be varied Serves 85 a motor generator has desi r-' winding 15, which produces a field to suit requirements;

the drawings and more specifically described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the single figure of the drawing, I have illustrated diagrammatically a system arranged in accordance with the preferred form of my invention.

In the drawing, 10 represents the armature of a dynamo-electric machine which to turn over or start the engine of the motor vehicle to which the system is applied, and after the engine is in operation, serves as a generator to supply current to the vehicle lamps 11 and to: the storage battery i2, which it will be-understood is employed to supply current to the lamps when the machine 18 stationary or to supply cnrifent'to themotor for starting purposes.

The armature 10 is coupled or connected to the engine b a single power transmittingagency, which for convenience of illustration is here shown'as consisting of a pair of gears 13 arranged between the armature shaft and the crank shaft of the engine. The armature may,! however, be otherwise coupled to the engine.

The dynamo-electric machine is, as here shown, provided with a main shunt field winding 14, and an auxiliary series field cumulative with respect toKtbeexc-itation caused by the shunt field winding when the machine is serving as a motor. and which has a demagnctizing action when tbc machine is serving as a generator. Assuming that the polarity of the terminals of the generator are as indicated in the drawing, the direction of current through the shunt winding is at all times in the 'direction indicated by the arrow 16. When the machine is functioning as a motor, the direction of current through the serieswinding 15 is in the direction indicated by the arrow 17, but when the machine is functioning as a m t May a, 1920.

and other novel features are battery and nected to tion, the shunt generator, the direction of current through the series winding is in the direction indicated b the dotted arrow 18, and hence is reverse through the series winding.

In the preferred form of my invention, I employ a sectional series field winding, consisting in this case of two sections 15 and 15", and I prefer to employ a switch 19, the primary pur use of which is to connect and disconnect t e battery 12 and the dyna'mo electric machine, but which here serves also to disconnect or to connect intocircuit the shunt field winding 14. I therefore proride for this purpose a so-called three-point switch compr sing a movable switch blade 19' and three switch contacts as follows; a contact 19 which is connected to one terminal of the shunt winding 14, the other terminal of which is permanentlyconnected to the generator, a contact 19 which is conone end terminal of the series winding 15, and a contact 19 which is connected to a ta extending outwardly .from substantially t 1e middle poin between the two terminals ofthe series winding. It will be seen that when this switch is opened, the dynamo electric machine are disconnected and the shunt winding 14 is disconnected from both the battery and dynamo electric machine. There can therefore be no waste of energ of the battery through the shunt windin when the machine is idle, and there wi 1 be no current generated in the armature 10 of the dynamo electric machine when the machine 18 in motion and the generator is disconnected from the battery and lighting circuits. This feature of disconnecting the shunt field from the armature when the battery is disconnected eliminates all danger of the field magnetism and voltage building up to a dangerous-point as would be the case if the machine were driven as a shunt machine on open circuit. It will be seen also that when the switch blade is in its first closed posifield winding is connected in the circuit and the battery 15 connected to the dynamo electric machine with'the entire series field winding in the battery and generator circuits, and when the switch is in its full closed position, the section 15" of the series winding 15 is short circuited, leaving the section 15' only efl'ective.

A further novel feature of my invention resides in the connection of the conductors ll, 11" of the lighting circuit to the generator or battery circuits. It will be noted that one conductor 11' of the lighting circuit is permanently connected to one side of the battery and'to one side of the generator, and that the other conductor Ill of the lighting circuit, which while disconncctcd from the generator when the switch I!) is upon, is connected to the sidc. of the generator opposite'to that to which the conductor 11 is cunnccted when thc switch is closed. and this connection is madc at a point between the armature l0 and thc scrics licld winding. The lamps are thcrcforc not disconnected from the battery when the switch 19 is opened. The lamps are controlled independently of the switch 19 by a separate switch here indicated at 11.

The series and shunt field coils 14 and 15 are so wound that when the motor is started to turn over or to start the engine by closmg the switch 19, current from the battery 12 passes through the two windin in a direction such that the magnetic fieliis produced thereby are cumulative or addative, thereby producing a strong ma netic-field and providing a good torque. h-eferablv, the machine is so designed that the field is saturated by current passing through .the shunt field winding, and the maximum current through one section of the series field winding, so that when the machine is servin as a motor ll l starting the engine, it has,

su stantially the same maximum torque whether the entire series winding or whether only one section 15" is connected in circuit.

After the engine is in operation and the dynamo electric nmchine is serving as a generator to charge the battery or to light the lamps 11 or both, the current is mvorscd through the scrics winding and therefore the series winding has dcmagnetizing action which varies of course with the value of the current passing through the winding and therefore with tlu speed at which the gen erutor is driven. This variable demagnetiziug action of the series winding with variations in speed is such that a substantially constant potential is nmiutnined at the terminals of the generator. regardless of the speed of the generator, for the reason that a slight incrcasn in currcut in the series coil due to an increase in speed decreases the field magnetization, and a dccrcasc in current due to a decrease in speed causes an increase in field nmgnctization. This automatic regulation is obtained with a very slight increase or dim-ease of current, and hence the batlm'y is charged at a substantially constant ampere rate, insuring practically a constant voltage acrossthe terminals of the machine. By connecting the lighting circuit to the dymnno electric machine at a point between the series field winding and the armature, merely the current which passes through the battery traverses the series winding.

lly proyidiug a sectional series field winds 1 ampere shifting the switch from the half closed greater demagnetizing action than is the case if merely the section 15" is in circuit. Consequently, when the entire winding is in circuit, the current output of the genlerator is less than when merely the section 15" of the series winding is utilized. Furthermore, by utilizing the switch 19, not only for connecting and disconnecting the battery and-dynamo electric machine, but also for varying. the effective turns of the series winding, I am enabled to obtain a gradual startln of the motor by movi the switch 19 Irom open position to in closed position slowly so that the series winding may be utilized as a rheostat in sition to full closed position.

By my invention above described, includ- .ing the numerous details of arrangement and electrical'connections, I obtain an-engine starting and lighting s stem which is very efiicient and is extreme y simple in its arrangement and number of parts employed, especially as I utilize only one dynamo electric machine, and one power transmission agency between the dynamo electric machine and the engine, and require no gear or clutch-shifting means which are often the source of inconvenience and trouble, and if'not properly actuated, frequently result in in'ury to the engine or the startingland lig ting s stem.

aving thus escribed my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination an internal combustion engine, an engine starting and lighting system, comprising a dynamo electric maclnne designed to serve as a motor to start themgine or as a generator, a battery and a lamp circuit both adapted to receive current from the dynamo electric machine, the latter having a shunt field winding for producing a field of constant polarity and a sectional series field winding which produces a field which assists the field of the shunt field winding when the machine is serving as a motor and which opposes the field of said shunt field winding to an extent dependent upon the speed of the engine, when the machine -is serving as a generator, and,

means for connecting intocircuit one or more of the series winding sections.

2. In combination, an internal combustion engine, an engine starting and lighting system comprising a dynamo olectrlc machine adapted to serve as a motor to start the engine and as a generator after the lam gine is started, a battery ah a lighting circuit both adapted to receive current from the dynamo electric machinc. the latter having an armature, a shunt iicld winding which produces a field of constant polarity and a sectional series iicld winding which produces a field which assists the field of the shunt field winding when the machine is serving as a motor and which opposes said field to an extent dependent upon the speed of the engine when the machine is serving as a generator, and means for connecting or disconnecting the battery and dynamo electric machine, for connecting or disconnectin the shunt field winding with respect to tie battery andarmature, and for varying the effective sections of the series winding.

3. In a startin and lighting system adapted to be emp oyed in connection with internal combustion engines, a dynamo electric machine having an armature and a field member provided with series and shunt windings for producing fields which assist each other when the machine is serving as a motor to start the engine and oppose each other when the machine is driven by the engine as a generator, a battery, a lamp circuit, and a switch for connecting and disconnecting the arniature and batte and for opening and closing the shunt fie d circuit, said switch when closed serving to connect the lamp circuit across the terminals of the armature and when opened leaving the lamp circuit connected to the battery, whereby the generator current supplied to the 'lamp circuit does not pass throu h the series field winding and when the switch is opened the lamp circuit is not interrupted.

.4. In a 'startin and lighting system adapted to be emp oyed in connection with internal combustion engines, a dynamo electric machine having an armature and a field member provided with series and shunt windings for producing fields which assist each other when the machine is serving as a motor to start the engine and oppose each other when the machine is driven by the encult, and a'switch for connecting and disconnecting the armature and battery and for renderin the shunt field winding effective and inelgective, said switch when closed serving to connect the lamp circuit across the terminals of the armature and when opened leaving the lamp circuit -connected to the battery, whereby the current passing through the lamp circuit does not pass through the series field winding when the machine is serving as a generator and is charging the battery and when the switch is opened the lamp circuit is not interrupted.

5.1a combination with an internal combustion engine, a dynamo electricmachine adapted to serve as a motor to start the enginc and as a generator after the engine is started, a battery adapted to siipply current to the dynamo electric machine or to be charged thereby, alighting circuit adapted to receive current from the dynamo electric machine or from the battery, the dynamo clcctric machine comprising an armature, a shunt field winding and a series field winding, the latter assisting the former when In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my the machine is serving as a motor, and opsignature in the presence of two witnesses.

osmg the same when the machme 1s servmg as a generator, the lighting circuit hav- JUSTUS EN D ing a connection with the dynamo electric \Vitnesses; machine at a oint between the series field A. F. Kwls,

inding and t 1e armature thereof. A. J. HUDSON. 

